Observe how and when your teacher closes his or her lessons and/or activities. How does he or she end each class period? Is there a set routine? If so, describe it. Pay special attention to when you teacher begins to end the class. Does he or she return to the purpose or main idea of the lesson? Does he or she "set up" the homework or the next day's activity? Is the teacher still teaching when the bell rings or are students already poised to leave? Is there some "dead time" at the end of the class period? If so, how much? How do students react to your teacher's closing strategies? Remember that these questions are a guide and that you don't have to answer each one. Be sure you reflect on your observations and describe how you will try to end your classes. What supports for these ideas might you include in your lesson plans?
Observations: My cooperating teacher generally has a very set routine for ending class, she generally repeats the main ideas of the lesson and ties it in to the
essential question. At Ponagansett there are 5 essential questions the science department is required to incorporated into the curriculum, and at the end of each lesson Mrs. Bailey asks a question relating to one of those questions, or she will ask students to tell her how does the topic they are working on answer that question. Students can tell that class is coming to and end usually because she will go back to the front of the room and wait for them to quiet down. There isn't usually much homework, and if there is it normally is just finishing up something that was started in class, and students get reminded just before the class ends. Reflections: I think that closing this way works pretty well for Mrs. Bailey, the only issue I see is at the end of class students generally are so eager to leave they don't really listen to important reminders that usually come a minute or two before the bell rings. I like how everything gets revisited at the end of the period because it helps bring the students focus back to the important points of the lesson. I also think it's really important that she goes back to the essential question because it shows students that there is a point behind what they are learning. That is something I think I would like to include in my lessons, and I also want to give students the cue to calm down and finish up by standing in a certain spot.
Class Topic: Physical Science/ Class on Acceleration
Grade:9th
Observed by: Jennifer C
Observations: My cooperating teacher generally has a very set routine for ending class, she generally repeats the main ideas of the lesson and ties it in to the
essential question. At Ponagansett there are 5 essential questions the science department is required to incorporated into the curriculum, and at the end of each lesson Mrs. Bailey asks a question relating to one of those questions, or she will ask students to tell her how does the topic they are working on answer that question. Students can tell that class is coming to and end usually because she will go back to the front of the room and wait for them to quiet down. There isn't usually much homework, and if there is it normally is just finishing up something that was started in class, and students get reminded just before the class ends.
Reflections: I think that closing this way works pretty well for Mrs. Bailey, the only issue I see is at the end of class students generally are so eager to leave they don't really listen to important reminders that usually come a minute or two before the bell rings. I like how everything gets revisited at the end of the period because it helps bring the students focus back to the important points of the lesson. I also think it's really important that she goes back to the essential question because it shows students that there is a point behind what they are learning. That is something I think I would like to include in my lessons, and I also want to give students the cue to calm down and finish up by standing in a certain spot.
Class Topic: Physical Science/ Class on Acceleration
Grade:9th
Observed by: Jennifer C